Eugenics nothing new to health care in U.S.

There has been plenty of misinformation that has seeped into this health-care debate. Credit is due to conservatives for being master magicians. The sleight of hand has been laudable.

The biggest laugh is how the word "eugenics" has been bandied about by conservative pundits; as if government death panels were going to decide who was worthy to live or die. Ironically, isn't that our present system? Our current health care structure is very eugenic - and it's something conservatives love and don't want anyone to notice. Presently, if you're rich or smart enough to work for a company that provides health coverage, then you're safe. You will likely be provided for should anything happen. However, if you're one of the great unwashed or not smart or lucky enough to have a job with health care coverage, you are significantly more likely to die as a result. That's eugenics by definition. And if you think you have coverage, but your insurance drops you, it's a casualty with which "the hives" can live.

Here's a solution. Let's have the insurance industry go back to being not-for-profit and the pharmaceutical industry go back to the universities. Insurance will be privately owned, but they wouldn't be profit-driven entities. Drugs for cures may not come as quickly, but neither will deaths related to drugs pushed too soon to market.

If government should be minimized, should we privatize our police and fire departments? Maybe we should have each household contract individually for fire coverage. Would that make them more efficient? Or better yet, do we eschew the current socialist programs run by the government - Medicare and Social Security?

The big debate presently isn't about health care, per se. It's the current topic of the debate, but the real issue is in what kind of society do we want to live?

Cheryl Graves

Elgin